If any of you remember my post about filling a shipping container… well, we are here, and it’s all coming apart. The plans not the container.
The goods are on the boat and on the way. The house buying fell through and we are looking - or trying to. We are off in Yilan, n Loutand (spelling) near the sports park.
Only intermittant internet access and in a 2 bedroom apartment for 30 days.
Life is full of surprises. I can’t even ask for help in a comprehensive way right now. We will see how all this unfolds. We feel like we are in a tragic, National Lampoon movie where somebody forgot the punch lines and only remembered the punches.
This will be a challange. Sorry to be so cryptic but I’ve got to run. No time.
[quote=“OutofChaos”]
The goods are on the boat and on the way. The house buying fell through and we are looking - or trying to. We are off in Yilan, n Loutand (spelling) near the sports park.
Life is full of surprises. I can’t even ask for help in a comprehensive way right now. We will see how all this unfolds. We feel like we are in a tragic, National Lampoon movie where somebody forgot the punch lines and only remembered the punches.[/quote]
You have my sympathy. I was there for several years about 14 years ago. I was the only foreigner living there (at least I never saw another foreigner). Used to take the train to Taipei just to buy Anchor Cheese and Skippy Peanut Butter. Was bored out of my skull. Had nice place near the Culture Center. Went back a couple of years ago and the whole neighborhood had slid down the toilet.
if it’s any consolation i like luodong a lot…stayed there quite a few times as a base for mountain expeditions etc. (taiping shan) better than ilan by a long shot and has a great night market…dont forget to try the world class cold springs at suao
Do you mean your 40-foot container will be sent to a house which you will not buy? I wonder what the owner of the house will think when the container arrives?
I hope you have some friends who have a large empty house in order to store your things until you find your own house. I’m sure the shipping company will expect you to have your own forklift and unload everything out of the container within a few hours of when it arrives. And according to the very extensive list of things that you said you will bring (including anvils!), I don’t think everything would fit inside a tiny apartment.
I think you’d better find a house to rent (or buy) as soon as possible. Contact some real estate companies. But you’d better take along someone who is bilingual because most real estate agents can’t speak a word of English, especially not in rural areas like Yilan County.
From a business standpoint that whole area will be a very hot commodity (At least for Illan County) when they finally open up the cross-Connecting Highway 5…December 2005
Luodong at that point will be a 40 minute drive from Taipei…An easier and more scenic route than many have in the suburbs of Taipei County.
[quote=“Michael J Botti”]From a business standpoint that whole area will be a very hot commodity (At least for Illan County) when they finally open up the cross-Connecting Highway 5…December 2005
Luodong at that point will be a 40 minute drive from Taipei…An easier and more scenic route than many have in the suburbs of Taipei County.
Relax, it will work out…Luodong is nice [/quote]
Exactly right! My wife and I have been exploring possibilities for buying a nice little bieshu in or around Ilan. There are going to be a lot of residential housing development projects getting started there in the near future, and prices of little houses with gardens in gated communities should be well affordable compared with Taipei County.
MPS asked “Is your wife Taiwanese, or did you live here a while, or ?? How’d you pick Taiwan?”
Since I’m ‘keybored’ challanged, I’ll use part of the reply I posted previously,
My wife and I are pulling up stakes here and making a permanent move.
We have relations in Ilan (Yilan) (Yilan). (Hers)
I’m a bit restricted in my getting around and I like solitude but not isolation.
I love China & Taiwan, past and present, but mostly future.
I’m closer to the end of life than the beginning and I learned to not put off the opportunity to do because of the fear of what if.
I first found Taiwan in 1972. On the final approach of my first entry, it felt like I was coming home. It’s felt that way ever since. Only a couple of visits since we left in 1976, but coming home was an easy choice.
Luodong is very nice - and if you can live near the big sports park, then you are lucky indeed.
I know a guy who recently opened a pizzeria with semi-OK cheap pizzas near the centre. He also runs a company selling espresso machines, restaurant equipment and some western foodstuffs there. Through that business he has got into contact with a bunch of English teachers who opened a bar/restaurant thingy there. He portraied them as a very fine group to be with, and well, your isolation will diminish if you know a few long-termers.
However, to build up connections and friendships takes time, I got thrust into one at my first job here, but most aren’t that lucky. There are foreigners there, and well you will get your circle over time.
The NT$10 for the cart is refunded when handing it back.
If you want a good washer, then go for a front loader which they will have in Carrefour. They can usually heat the water to 60 or 95 degrees celcius.
When it comes to the fridge, then go for the ones where they use tempered glass shelves inside - ours has (or rather had) plastic shelves, and they break when overloaded.
I noticed that EVERYONE was returning carts and there weren’t ANY loose carets around. Couldn’t figure out what chemical was in the air ducts to cause such a standardization of response. Then I read your post -
"The NT$10 for the cart is refunded when handing it back. "
Now it makes sense!
Thanks for tips on the appliances. I had one bit of advice that mentioned that shopping for A/Cs at a local store was better than Carrefour since they would install the unit and warrenty it as well. Hmmm.
Any idea if Carrefour does installs?
Any idea if shopping for big ticket items is best in the department store or a local appliance shop?
Oh, best place to buy a small inexpensive car? Hualien, Ilan, or Taipei?
Yes, they do. Your wife will have to ask them, and they will charge NT$1000~NT$2000 depending on size and type of aircon unit.
The big department stores usually have appliances not available in places like carrefour, I am thinking of dishwashers, big ovens and the like. However, they are more expensive, and most of the appliances they sell are the same as the ones you can get in carrefour, Geant RT mart and the like. The warranty should be the same. I have had warranties for cheap DVD players and the like honored in the local Geant.
You will find more different cars available in Taipei as more people live there.
However, as you mention the words “small” & “inexpensive”, then you should be thinking in the lines of 4 door saloon of local make. It has to be made here, as spares then become cheaper. A car like that should be possible to get in Hualian. I drive Nissan, the Toyotas are a bit more expensive but are said to last longer, the Hondas are OK too.
Try to go [url=The hidden costs of owning a car for more and better answers. Michael J Botti (a neighbor) knows a lot about this, and reading his and bens posts would be a good start.
Hualien is not a myth. We have started sleeping in our new abode. As the days went on we added air conditioning (whew!), a refrigerator, a washer, assorted plastic storage bins, and a pocket size multi-meter for AC-DC & ohms.
I forgot to say about the multi meter. I carried a three-prong circuit tester with me on the trip. One feature we wanted was three prong plugs. Well, we tested all the outlets and surprise - only the first floor was properly wired. The second and third had no ground and the outside outlets had no ground AND had the hot/neutral lines reversed.
My sister in law went ballistic with the builder who is still constructing in the area. His crew came back and installed all the proper grounds and straightened out the reversals. I watched each step of the way and they did a great job.
Now with the meter I can check the voltage and monitor rise and fall of the line, at least until my goods show up and I can put my computer to work monitoring the line voltage.
Gee…you running something that’s that sensitive to live voltage fluctuations? Having lived in Taiwan for over a decade, you start putting up with little things like the lack of a properly grounded socket.
In any case, it’s sadly somewhat common to see glaring construction errors like that. Certified electricians are expensive and there’s no shortage of the “tou sai ah” (Taiwanese) who are really jacks of all trades and master of none. Sometimes, the electrician will do the main wiring and leave his apprentices to do the rest of it.
